There were only five competitors at the 1974 Mr Olympia in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The heavyweight division looked the same as it did in the 1975 Mr. Olympia which many saw documented in the film Pumping Iron except that Lou Ferrigno’s and Serge Nubret’s final placings were reversed. Lou Ferrigno came in second in 1974. A smoother Lou Ferrigno came in 3rd behind Serge Nubret in 1975. The lightweight division was just Frank Zane and Franco Columbu in 1974.

Many say Arnold Schwarzenegger was at his biggest and best at the 1974 Mr. Olympia. However, I have heard that Arnold feels he was at his best in 1971 and I agree based on video and photos I’ve seen. Arnold was the only competitor in 1971 due to disqualifications. There don’t seem to be a lot of photos of the event and some have speculated that it may be because he was the only one competing and the IFBB didn’t want to publicize it too much.

Check out images and video from 1971 here. Read more about the 1971 disqualifications here. Another 1974 Mr Olympia image is here. Check out our galleries for yet more.